Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s close associates have been left out during distribution of ministry berths.
Bhopal:
The BJP leaders in Madhya Pradesh, already upset over ministry berths, are openly voicing their discontent over the delay portfolio allocation in the state cabinet. Today, Ajay Vishnoi former minister and senior BJP legislator from Patan –a seat in Jabalpur district — tweeted a warning. The tweet triggered a political controversy in the state amid a growing perception within the ranks that Chief Minster Shivraj Singh’s firm grip on the party and the government is slipping.
Questioned by journalists today about the delay in portfolio allocation today, the Chief Minister said: “All the departments come under the CM and since I’m the CM, I’m also minister of all departments. The government is functioning properly. The cabinet meeting is slated for Thursday, everything will be worked out by then.”
But Mr Vishnoi made it clear that the delay is not sitting well with the leaders of the party.
“First it was about number of ministers and now the distribution of portfolios. I fear that if BJP workers get upset with such insult of our leaders. It would be a big loss,” the tweet from the four-time MLA read.
Mr Vishnoi — who was also among the frontrunners for ministerial berths — wrote to the Chief Minister after not being included in the second cabinet expansion on July 2, urging him to keep charge of Jabalpur and Rewa districts with him.
Both districts have zero representation in the council of ministers.
Congress’s Rajya Sabha member Vivek Tankha, who also belongs to Jabalpur, responded to Mr Vishnoi’s tweet.
“First the Congress had to suffer the damage, now it’s certainly BJP’s turn. You’re completely correct Ajay Bhai,” Mr Tankha tweeted.
Among the leaders of the ruling party, the tweet is being interpreted as a deliberate attempt to highlight that the Chief Minister was not allowed to choose his ministry colleagues.
The BJP’s Central leadership is seen to have sided with Jyotiraditya Scindia, whose defection from the Congress with 22 MLAs led to the collapse of the Kamal Nath government and helped the party come to power in the state.
Of the 22 Congress MLAs who joined the BJP, 14 have been inducted as ministers. Of them, 10 are cabinet ministers and four are ministers of state. The BJP has 20 ministers.
During his meeting with the Central leaders in Delhi earlier this month, the Chief Minister was seen as failing to make his point. His suggestions for the ministry was heavily edited, with close associates like Rampal Singh, Rajendra Shukla, Paras Jain, Gauri Shankar Bisen being left out
In the first expansion of his cabinet, his arch-critic Kamal Patel was inducted as a cabinet minister and awarded Agriculture department, in what party insiders now see as a sign of his loosening grip.
